Arrangement and Method for Determining Muscular Contractions in an Anatomical Organ

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement for determining the degree of muscular contraction of a generally tubular anatomical organ ( 4 ), said arrangement comprising a longitudinally extending catheter ( 9 ) being adapted for introducing into said organ ( 4 ), and a measuring unit ( 11; 12 ) for cooperating with said catheter ( 9 ) and being adapted for assessing said degree of contraction. According to the intention, said catheter ( 9 ) is provided with a sensor arrangement ( 10; 22; 25 ) for indicating the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ), and said measuring unit ( 11; 12 ) is provided with means for determining the degree of longitudinal muscular contraction of said organ ( 4 ) based on values indicating said geometrical configuration. The invention also relates to a catheter for of generally longitudinal extension and being adapted for introducing into a generally tubular anatomical organ. The invention also relates to a method for assessing the degree of said muscular contraction.

1 . Arrangement for determining the degree of muscular contraction of a generally tubular anatomical organ ( 4 ), said arrangement comprising:
 a longitudinally extending catheter ( 9 ) being adapted for introducing into said organ ( 4 ), and a measuring unit ( 11 ;  12 ) for cooperating with said catheter ( 9 ) and being adapted for assessing said degree of contraction, characterized in that said catheter ( 9 ) is provided with a sensor arrangement ( 10 ;  22 ;  25 ) for indicating the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ), and that said measuring unit ( 11 ;  12 ) is provided with means for determining the degree of longitudinal muscular contraction of said organ ( 4 ) based on values indicating said geometrical configuration.   
     
     
         2 . Arrangement according to  claim 1 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement ( 10 ) comprises a plurality of radiologically opaque markers ( 10 ) arranged on said catheter ( 9 ), and in that said measuring unit ( 11 ;  12 ) comprises a fluoroscopy scanning device ( 11 ) adapted for detecting the positions of said markers ( 10 ). 
     
     
         3 . Arrangement according to  claim 1 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement ( 10 ) comprises a plurality of strain gauges ( 22 ) arranged in the catheter ( 9 ) for detecting bending strain acting upon said catheter ( 9 ). 
     
     
         4 . Arrangement according to  claim 1 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement ( 10 ) comprises at least one optical fiber ( 24 ) being adapted for detecting bending thereof. 
     
     
         5 . Arrangement according to  claim 1 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement ( 10 ) comprises a plurality of transponders ( 25 ) which cooperate with a sender/receiver arrangement ( 26 ,  27 ) for providing information regarding the position of each transponder. 
     
     
         6 . Arrangement according to  claim 1 , characterized in that said catheter ( 9 ) also comprises means ( 19 ) for side-hole manometry in said organ ( 4 ), for assessing circumferential muscular contractions of said organ ( 4 ). 
     
     
         7 . Arrangement according to  claim 1 , characterized in that it is adapted for determining the degree of contraction of muscular contraction of a generally tubular organ ( 4 ) in a gastrointestinal system of a human or animal. 
     
     
         8 . Catheter ( 9 ) of generally longitudinal extension and being adapted for introducing into a generally tubular anatomical organ ( 4 ), characterized in that said catheter ( 9 ) is provided with a sensor arrangement ( 10 ;  22 ;  25 ) for indicating the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ). 
     
     
         9 . Catheter ( 9 ) according to  claim 8 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement comprises a plurality of radiologically opaque markers ( 10 ). 
     
     
         10 . Catheter ( 9 ) according to  claim 8 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement comprises a plurality of strain gauges ( 22 ) for detecting bending strain acting upon said catheter ( 9 ). 
     
     
         11 . Catheter ( 9 ) according to  claim 8 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement comprises at least one optical fiber ( 24 ) being adapted for detecting bending thereof. 
     
     
         12 . Catheter ( 9 ) according to  claim 8 , 
       characterized in that said sensor arrangement comprises a plurality of transponders ( 25 ) adapted to cooperate with a sender/receiver arrangement ( 26 ,  27 ) for providing information regarding the position of each transponder. 
     
     
         13 . Catheter ( 9 ) according to  claim 8 , 
       characterized in that said catheter ( 9 ) also comprises means ( 19 ) for side-hole manometry in said organ ( 4 ). 
     
     
         14 . Method for determining the degree of muscular contraction of a generally tubular anatomical organ ( 4 ), said method comprising:
 introducing a longitudinally extending catheter ( 9 ) into said organ ( 4 ), and   assessing said degree of contraction by means of a measuring unit ( 11 ;  12 ) cooperating with said catheter ( 9 ), characterized in that said method further comprises:   detecting values related to the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ) by means of a sensor arrangement provided on said catheter ( 9 ),   feeding said values to said measuring unit ( 11 ;  12 ), and   determining the degree of longitudinal muscular contraction of said organ ( 4 ) based on said values indicating said geometrical configuration.   
     
     
         15 . Method according to  claim 14 , 
       characterized in that the step of detecting values related to the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ) is carried out by means of a plurality of radiologically opaque markers ( 10 ) arranged on said catheter ( 9 ), and by detecting the positions of said markers ( 10 ) by means of a fluoroscopy scanning device ( 11 ). 
     
     
         16 . Method according to  claim 14 , 
       characterized in that the step of detecting values related to the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ) is carried out by detecting values representing bending strain acting upon said catheter ( 9 ) by means of a plurality of strain gauges arranged in the catheter ( 9 ). 
     
     
         17 . Method according to  claim 14 , 
       characterized in that the step of detecting values related to the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ) is carried out by detecting bending of at least one optical fiber ( 24 ) being arranged in said catheter ( 9 ). 
     
     
         18 . Method according to  claim 14 , 
       characterized in that the step of detecting values related to the geometrical configuration of said catheter ( 9 ) is carried out by providing information regarding the position of a plurality of transponders ( 25 ) arranged on said catheter ( 9 ) and cooperating with a sender/receiver arrangement ( 26 ,  27 ). 
     
     
         19 . Method according to  claim 14 , 
       characterized in that it furthermore comprises detecting circumferential muscular contractions in said organ ( 4 ) by means of side-hole manometry means ( 19 ). 
     
     
         20 . Method according to  claim 14 , 
       characterized in that it comprises determining the degree of muscular contraction of a generally tubular organ ( 4 ) in a gastrointestinal system of a human or animal. 
     
     
         21 . Method according to  claim 14 , 
       characterized in that it comprises determining said geometrical configuration with reference to at least one anatomically fixed reference points ( 5 ,  6 ).